NEW DELHI: Military officer Trilokchand Raina’s mastery at making bombs in an ordnance factory was only getting him a measly salary of rupees ten thousand a month. Not enough to give wings to his son Suresh’s cricketing dreams.
But, more than two decades after those days of struggle, riding hard work, determination and luck, Raina ended his professional career as an international cricketer recently with plenty of success.
Around the time when he was dreaming of making a career out of playing cricket, the fees in sports academies in Delhi would range from Rs 5000 to Rs 8000 a month.
And the Raina family, comprising eight members, found itself in a fix till it came to know of the Guru Gobind Singh Sports College in Lucknow.
The rest, as they say, is history.
“Papa was in the Army, my elder brother is also in the Army. Papa used to make bombs in an ordnance factory. He was a master at that,” Raina said of his father on The Slow Interview by Neelesh Misra.
“He looked after the families of soldiers who had died. His was a very emotional work. This was tough, making sure that the money orders went and they received all the government benefits that they were eligible for, Raina, nickname Sonu, said.”
Looking to provide a safe environment to his family, Trilokchand had left everything in Rainawari in Jammu and Kashmir following the killings of Kashmir Pandits in the 1990s.
But, having settled down in UP’s Muradnagar, life was far from easy for the Raina family. (AGENCIES)
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